Separable fastener



Feb. 7, 1933. 5 WARD 1,896,129

SEPARABLE FASTENER Filed May 4, 1932 I N VEN TOR.

ASfN/Q M W4 RD Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES ma 1:. warm, or nnooxnyu, new roan snramm mums y present invention relates to improv'ements in separable fasteners.

. The principal object of'the invention is to provide a separable fastener particularly, though not exclusively, designed and lntended for use on and in connection with wearing apparel, whereby the separate parts of the fastener may be attached to separate garments or separate parts of agarment to o secure the same together. For lnstance, girdles and corsets are usually provided with dependinggarters quite commonly permanently attached tothe girdle or corset, so

that when the latter are washed it is necessary to also subject the arters to the action of the washing fluid WhlCl'l more orless' destroys the' elasticity of the garter; Inaccordance with my invention, I provide a separable fastener, whereby the garter may be detachably secured to the girdle so that when the girdle is washed the garters may be easily detachedand later attached. do notlimit the inventionto use in this particular combination as the same is susceptible of use in connection with attaching various articles, and other items of wearing apparel. The objects of the invention include the provision of a fastener which may bevmade at a minimum of expense; and embodying a construction and arrangement of parts providing a fiat or thin fastener so that a noticeable bulge will not be created thereby to detract from the appearance of garments wornthereover.

-The foregoing objects are accomplished by the provision of a resilient retaining.

member and a rigid retained member both embodying a minimum amount of material and capable of being made by a very simple stamplng'operation.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating fasteners embodying the invention applied to a girdle and garters;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the parts giatached and in related position for assem- 3; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts '50 shown in Fig. 2 assembled extension 9 on the retained part A may Application filed 4, 1882. Serial No. 609,801.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and f Fig. 5 is a view-similar to Fig. 3 showing a modification in size and attachment loops.

Referring first to Fig. 2. of the accompanying drawing, A designates the retained member of the fastener and comprises a flat and preferably thin rigid sheet formed with an attachment loop 6 at its top, so that, as 7 shown in Fig. 1, the same may be secured to a girdle or other'part by loopi stitches through'the material and around t e to of the loop 6 and through the slot 7 forme in the loop.' Depending from the attachment loop is a tongue or extension 9 having'its lower edge bent outwardly at substantially right angles to the tongue 9 to form a retaining flange 10. B designates the retaining member of the fastener which also hasan attachment loop '11 with a slot 12, and there- 7 above a substantially flat U-shaped part formed by bending astrip upon itself, as at 14, to provide one arm or keeper 15, the lower end of which terminates preferably slightly abovethe; top edge of the loop 11 "and over the other arm 13 0f the U-shaped member. .The part B is made of resilient metal preferably of a rust proof or stainless character or'plated with a rust proof coating. The resilience of the metal and the bend or crease '14 forms a resilient connection-between the arms so that if 15 is lifted away from the part 13, it will return to its original positiomwhich is either in contact with the part 13 or in very close proximity thereto, when 5 released. A portion of the "crease 14" is cutaway as indicated at 16 to provlde an opening in the top of the retainmg member through whichthe ton ue or be inserted. As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the arms 15 and 13 converge'toward theloop 11, that is, they are shown as being spaced apart further at the crease'14 than :at the lower end of the'flap 15. The spacing 9 at the. opening 16 need only be sufficient to enable insertion of the flange 10 which will force the flap 15 away from the wall 13 as it is moved downwardly, and of course as soon as thev flange 10 passes thelower endxof the flange 15, the latter will spring back against the face of the tongue 9 above the flange 10, thus preventing separation of the parts A and B unless and until the flap 15 is raised suificiently to permit the flange 10 to pass between it and the wall 13. This may be quickly and easily accomplished, simply b inserting the fingernail or any thin and su ciently strong element between the flap and the tongue 9 and pushing the flap 15 outwardly.

Preferably, the relative lengths of the tongue 9 and the flap 15 is such that the bottom of the loop 6 will contact the crease 14 after the flange 10 has been engaged by the lower edge of the flap 15 upon insertion of the tongue 9 through the opening 16 and passageof the flange 10 to its lowermost locked position. I p

In-Fig. 5, Ihave shown a small sized fastener whichv is identical with the fastener shown-in the other figures in that the parts A'and B are constructed in the manner specifiedbut the retaining loops 6. and 11 re spectively are not as long as those shown in. the other figures relative to the width .of the other parts vof the fastener.

The construction and operation of the fastenershould be clearly understood from the foregoing and no reiteration will be given, but I desire to point out that the device can be made-of various types of metal and in \various sizes and that the relative length and .width of the retaining flap 15 and tongue 9 and'flange 10 may be varied at will, as the fastener is adapted for use with different articles. However, the device is especially .useful in connection with ladies wearing apparel,*in that it provides no sharp edges or points to cut or catch on the garments which may come into contact therewith, and it will be. understoodthat in actual use, the edges would not necessarily be as distinct and .clearlydefined as shown in the drawing for the "purposes of illustration, but may be rounded. Furthermore, the extreme thinness of the device and its ease and efl'ectiveness of operation make it particularly suited for feminine wearing apparel.

=I-claim:.-

1; A separable fastener comprising a retaining member of flat resilient metal bent upon itself toprovide a relatively flat substantially U-sha-pedv part in cross-section wits a portion of its crease cut out to provide an opening therethrough, an end ofone of the arms of said member being free and normally urged toward the other arm, and a re- ,tained member having a tongue insertible between said arms through said opening, and

,a projection on the end of said tongue for locking engagement with the free end of said one arm. I a 2. A separable fastener comprising a re- ,taining part having, means for attachingit to a garment or the like, said member having superimposed plates resiliently connected at one end and one of said plates having a free edge at its end opposite said connected end, said free edge being normally urged toward said other plate, a retained member having means for-attaching it to a garment or the like and having a substantially rigid extension, said retaining member having an opening at the connected ends of the plates through which said extension may be inserted, and said extension having a keeper at its end for locking engagement with said free end of said one plate when the extension is passed through said opening and between said plates.

3. A separable fastener comprising a retaining member of flat resilient metal having a portion folded upon itself to provide a substantially flat U-shaped part in cross-section,

with a narrow elongated opening extending through the crown of the fold, tlic extremity I ofv the free arm of said member being normallywurged toward the face of the other arm, and a retained member of flat metal havingan extension slightly narrower than said opening and adapted to be inserted therethrough between the arms of the U shaped member, the entering end. of said extension beingflanged at its extremity to provide a lateral shoulder engageable beneath the edge of the free arm when the parts are assembled to detachably connect the two members.

4. A separable fastener comprising aretaming member of flat reslllentmetal having a portion folded upon itself to provide a sub.- stantlally fiat U-shaped part in cross-section, with a narrow elongated opening extending through the crown of the fold, the extremity of the free arm of said member being normally urged toward the adjacent face of the other arm, and a substantially T-sliaped complemental member of flat metalhaving means at its upper end to attach it to a garment with a portion adapted to be inserted through-the said elongated opening and between the arms of the U-shaped member, the extremity of the end of said portion being flanged to provide a lateral sho ulder adapted' to engage beneath the lower edge of the said free arm when the parts are assembled to provide a detachable connection between the two members.

Signed at New York city in the county of 1 New York and State of New York this 2nd day of May A; D. 1932. I

' SENA M. WARD. 

